


To Reach the Top

by velocity_times_2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Campfires, Cheerleaders, Coming Out, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cussing, Disney World & Disneyland, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Gay, Falling In Love, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Football Captain Shiro (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Lance (Voltron), Gay Matt Holt, Gay Shiro (Voltron), High School, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Internalized Homophobia, It's honestly just fluff, M/M, Matt is a techie, Shay is there, Shiro is a cheerleader, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, We don't know her, but not really?, oh yeah, this is totally just me wanting to write tooth rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 03:30:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19142659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velocity_times_2/pseuds/velocity_times_2
Summary: Takashi Shirogane liked keeping the two most important facets of his life perfectly separate. At school he was senior varsity football captain and star quarterback. Football had been his dad’s dream for him, especially when Shiro ended up going to the same high school as his father. After school, he’d get in his hand-me-down Honda and drive forty five minutes, don a bright teal and white t-shirt and blindingly white shoes and become someone who would be unrecognizable to anyone who knew him at school. He’d become cheerleader Shiro, the Shiro who could do a layout-stepout-double and toss a flyer twenty feet into the air. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of that part of his life, just that he knew his teammates would use it as a way to undermine his football accomplishments, even though he left cheer even more tired than a football game.So, he kept the two sides of himself completely separate from one another, kept his two things in their own corners. It worked, and he was happy. Until Matt Holt shows up and threatens to tear down the carefully crafted separation between high school and all star cheer, that is.





	To Reach the Top

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so. This is my first labor of love for the Shatt Big Bang 2019! I have been wanting to write a Cheerleader!AU forever, and Shatt fit so well into it, I couldn't resist.  
> For anyone wondering, the team is based on Cheer Athletics Claw6. If you've never seen high level cheer, I highly recommend taking two minutes to watch [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTENJDY7p4o).  
> I tried to do as much research as I could, but if anyone who's an actual cheerleader has any corrections, I will edit them if it's possible to do so. I know Int. Large Coed doesn't typically (or ever) have male flyers for stunting, but we can suspend disbelief, right? Especially if it's for Lance.  
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The short of it was that Matt needed money. He needed money for college because scholarships did not buy ramen, they bought books.

Or so his mom had said.

So, he found a listing for a videography company. They had hired him on what he thought was the sole basis of his technological skills, but what he was now realizing was the need for a sacrificial lamb.

When he had first heard that he was going to be making thirteen dollars an hour and was being given a solo project he had been skeptical at best, but excited because money.

Now it all clicked. He got it.

The building was low the ground in an industrial part of the larger city that sat adjacent to his small town. The entire thing was metal and the only way to tell that he was in the right place was the giant banner being rustled by the fall wind. It was silver and white and teal and proudly announced his arrival at Altea’s All Star’s – premier cheerleading center in the Midwest.

Yeah.

Sacrificial lamb.

His camera bag was heavy and slid down his shoulder as he pushed open the door and was confronted with a large group of mothers trying to see around the blacked-out windows that were just off the cramped sitting area. They all ran their eyes up and down and saw his Nikon branded bag and pounced.

“Are you the new photographer?” A short woman pushed her way to the front and asked, “thank god, we’ve been waiting for headshots for _weeks._ ”

“Allura really has dropped the ball this year,” another said, this one willowy with sheets of badly dyed blonde hair. Matt had known that these were the kinds of people who lived in this area of the city were like, but being on the receiving end of whatever this was and seeing it were two totally different animals entirely.

“I…uh,” Matt’s voice was barely heard above the chatter of the mothers now talking about how poorly run the gym was and what angle he had to shoot their daughters and sons at and really, he wasn’t even here for this and-

“Ladies,” an exotic voice floated in the air and every mother in that room snapped to fucking attention. It was like a whip had cracked, “please leave our new videographer alone.” The man behind the voice appeared when Matt turned around and he was met with a head of ginger hair, a tight polo shirt, and a mustache that was a step above impressive.

In response to the man, all the mothers smoothed their previously ruffled feathers and returned to their attempts at squeezing a pupil through the papered windows.

“Matthew, I presume?” The man held out a hand fitted with elegantly long fingers and Matt took it in his own to shake.

“Just Matt, please,” he replied, meeting the man’s eyes and trying to smile.

“Absolutely, Matt, I’m Coran, owner and co-head coach. Why don’t you follow me,” he introduced himself and without preamble or a response the man pivoted on his heel and took huge strides towards a door in the back of the cramped waiting area. “I’m not sure how much they told you, but here at Altea we produce some of the best cheerleaders in the world, our world championship Senior Level Five All Girls team is a testament to that,” he gestured above their heads where a huge banner hung above the door. “The team you’ll be focusing on though,” and Matt followed Coran’s finger as he pointed across the bustling and loud gym they had just entered, “is them.”

A few dozen teenagers were gathered around a woman with shocking silver hair and she was absolutely laying into them. Even though her back was facing Coran and Matt, Matt could tell that she was livid. Her shoulders were hunched up and tension flew off of her in sparks as she flung her hands around her face.

“How many times do I have to reiterate this? If you drop your stunt I. Will. Replace. You!” The woman’s voice was like Coran’s; exotic in a way that Matt couldn’t place. It would have been a beautiful picture – pretty girl with a fancy voice – if it wasn’t for the pure anger shaking off of her in waves. “You are my best athletes, this is utterly ridiculous! Shiro,” the woman calls, motioning him to the front of the white carpeted floor, “why don’t you and Lexa demonstrate what a one-man stunt should look like for those who can’t seem to grasp the concept of clean.” Her words were icy as she scanned the rows of athletes before her, hands on her hips and a scowl coating her features.

And that’s when it hit Matt why something had felt like it had been stuck in the corner of his eye. That name. Shiro. At her instruction, the god of a man that was Takashi Shirogane emerged from the far right of the group and Matt felt his stomach drop through the floor and into the molten core of mother earth.

Shiro. The Shiro. Absurdly tall, stupidly ripped, incredibly kind, captain of the football team Shiro. Shiro with the black and white hair because he had lost a bet. Shiro with the muscles and the loud friends and sleek black car. He was here. In a pair of low riding silver shorts with all of his muscles out for the world to see and covered in a layer of sweat so thick it had pasted strands of that little white forelock to his head.

Matt’s mind was spinning and the bright floors were suddenly too loud in his eyes and holy shit, is throwing up on your first day on the job a bad thing? Because Matt would be doing it pretty soon unless a nurse was here to pop him some sort of antacid.

Before Matt could process any of this properly, a petite redhead approached Shiro, dwarfed by his frame and barely reaching his shoulder, even though she looked to be the same age. She and Pidge could have seen eye to eye. She wore a pair of what could barely be classified as shorts and a sports bra that matched the silver of Shiro’s clothes. A teal bow was proudly displayed on the front of her pony tail, which was slicked back against her skull.

The coach - “That’s Allura,” Coran whispered into Matt’s ear, began the eight count, and Shiro patted the girl’s hip once before she deeply bent her knees and was suddenly perched in Shiro’s right hand, his fingers a death grip around her foot while her other leg was pulled up tight against her shoulder. He dipped his arm down once and Lexa seemed to simply float into the both of his hands, her leg now perfectly straight behind her. Shiro had his arm at full extension, and both of their muscles were pulled taught against the bone, hard lines of definition played out due to both of their lack of clothing. Physiologically it shouldn’t be possible to bend that way, Matt thought, her back should be snapping. They remained in that position, muscles quivering slightly until Allura gave Shiro the okay and he popped the girl off his hands and caught her waist on the way down.

“See? Not a wobble, not a dip, not a bent leg, neither of those two miss conditioning.” Allura massaged the space between her eyes and let out a low sigh. “Maybe if we all took _that_ into account we could keep our stunts up, hm? Up, let’s do it again.” Allura clapped her hands once and then everyone was moving.

Matt watched as the entire team scrambled to their feet and all congregated in positions around the mat. He was a little awestruck at the complete control Allura possessed over the large group of teenagers and young adults, but she did it so effortlessly, it was easy to miss. One word and the entire group had jumped.

When the counting began again and each of the gathered small group was sent up into their stunts, Matt kept his eyes on Shiro - the Shiro. A god on the football field, homecoming king two years in a row, the most popular guy Matt had ever known to exist. And here he was. Cheerleading.

What the fuck?

His group was in the center of the floor, the redhead up in the air with her foot supported by Shiro and two other people this time. The other boy on Shiro’s team had a black ponytail and even though he didn’t fill out a shirt the way Shiro did, his muscles were still corded and defined. The girl in the back was even taller than Shiro himself and she was broad and obviously strong in the way that she aided in launching Lexa into the air at the end of the sequence, where she did something that Matt’s eyes couldn’t even comprehend happening. The whole thing lasted less than thirty seconds, and Matt was pretty sure his brain was melting out of his ears that this point.

Here he was, an hour away from his house and the world he knew and had built in his small corner of the Midwest, for a new job to just make some money, and Shiro was here too. But he was here to… do what? Be the muscle? Be strong enough to lift girls in the air? Cheerlead?

“So,” Coran broke Matt’s train of through then, speaking through Allura’s loud eight count, “what we’ve hired you to do is to film every moment, every practice, every competition, every single thing that happens with this team so we can figure out how and why we are having this problem.”

“What’s the problem?” Matt asks as his eyes stay locked on Shiro and his movements across the floor, now he’s standing in the far corner of the floor, still one moment and in motion the next, taking two long steps before once again defying gravity and somersaulting through the air, springing off the floor and flipping. Matt may or may not have been holding his breath waiting for Shiro to hit his head against the floor and die, but he doesn’t.

“Little things, small movements and corrections that we should be making,” Coran sighs and curls the end of his impressive facial hair around his finger, “we should be winning every championship with how these kids perform in the gym but come May, they always end up second or third in the world to teams in California or Texas, Allura and I haven’t had a winning team since her father passed away five years ago.”

“Oh, I, uh,” Matt fumbled with this information, lost as to what to respond to with that ball dropped. ”I’m sorry about that?”

Coran flipped his hand at the teenager, “It’s what it is, it’s how life works sometimes, we just want to figure out why our top athletes don’t measure up when the pressure is on.”

“I’m not a…. I just take videos,” Matt explained slowly this time, trying to convey that he’s not the saving grace this man is making him out to be.

“I know, but we’re trusting you to have them to us in record time, my boy,” Coran clapped a hand on Matt’s shoulder, “but we need you to capture the moments that keep us from being champions. Beginning right now.”

* * *

 

Shiro craved practice. It was his drug of choice, cheer. It was perfect, the amount of push he needed, the intensity and severity he craved. All of it was what he wanted as an athlete. Pushed, forced, made to be this perfect picture that the world got to see.

Altea was his safe space, he had found it when he was seven and needing a place to fit. Well, actually his mother had found it and signed him up in a last-ditch attempt to keep him from repeatedly injuring himself. He had been flipping off the couch and crawling over the fence to bounce on his neighbor’s trampoline just to get the momentum to twist around in the air since he could walk and the hospital was threatening calling CPS on them for how many stitches and sprains young Shiro had had to get treatment for.

Ten years later and here he was, basing arguably the best flyer in the nation on a team that had the skill level to win a world’s ring. But the thing was, they could never get one. The last world’s gold the gym had gotten had been before Allura’s father had died and left her to run the whole operation.

Allura taught the exact same way as her father, with enough force to get the job done and the skills perfected, but with love and admiration and joy at accomplishments, too. The team couldn’t figure out what was holding them back. They could hit stunt after stunt and put out clean routines in practices, but at competitions little details always slipped through that kept them in the shadows. She had mentioned something about bringing in a videographer, someone who’d be watching and keeping track of everything that was being done by their team so they could try and get under the skin of the issue.

When Allura had been going on about their one-man stunts Shiro had seen Coran leading someone into the gym, but had been too focused on keeping Lexa in the air to seek out a face. Now, standing at the back of the mat with Keith and Shay, Lexa’s foot resting on their interlocked arms, he looked up to ready himself for Allura’s count and met eyes with Matt Holt.

Shiro froze. Instead of dipping down to load his flyer into the basket toss, Shiro remained in prep and Lexa was tossed forward by her own momentum and lack of Shiro’s. Her head knocked hard against the mat, but he still didn’t notice any of it because Matt shouldn’t be here. There was no reason in the universe for Matt to be here in Shiro’s safe space.

“What the _fuck,_ Shiro?” Keith asked, and Shiro could feel his eyes burning into him, but somehow couldn’t bring himself to care at all.

“I need to…” Shiro backed away from Lexa groaning and rolling herself off the floor and the entire team now having turned their eyes on him, “one sec.” And he ran out of the gym.

It wasn’t like Shiro had never had to run out of a practice to puke before, or that he was the only one to ever do so. Far from it, actually. It was a normal occurrence, especially with full outs and conditioning.

Shiro wasn’t used to leaving with a feeling of intense fear, though. Usually it was a one and done sort of deal, puke and be over with it. Shiro didn’t even have to throw up right now, though. He felt trapped, like the room was closing in on him and his breath was leaving his body in gasps that he couldn’t get back under his control. Matt wasn’t dangerous, Shiro logically knew this but he also knew that his body was reacting this way because Matt represented his worst fears. The things that kept him awake in the middle of the night.

Shiro had always kept the two facets of his life separate. There was high school Shiro, the football star his father was happy with and the four-point-o student his mother had always driven him to be. Then there was Altea Shiro. The strong, happily out, and more of himself than he felt in the halls of Oakerlund High. Matt had shoved himself into Shiro’s world of safety and it was terrifying.

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice broke into Shiro’s spiral from outside of the small bathroom off of the gym. “Hey, Shiro, whatsup?”

“Yeah,” Lance’s voice follows, “are you okay?”

“I-“ Shiro gasped, clenching and unclenching his fingers, trying to grab at breaths and shove them into his lungs out of pure force.

“We’re coming in,” Lance announced, popping his head through the door and closing it behind him and Keith after they both had crammed their bodies into the small room.

Shiro was curled in on himself in the corner, fingers tugging at his hair and tears drying stickily on his cheeks. His skin itched and his eyes burned and his lungs still wouldn’t get with the program and take in air.

“What the hell is wrong?” Keith asked, tugging at Shiro’s wrists and getting the older boy to look up at him from under wet lashes.

“Yeah, you could have hurt-”

“Lance,” Keith’s voice was still gentle but the undertone of warning was there enough that Lance cut his sentence short. “You never drop stunts,” he tried instead, “what happened out there?”

Shiro took in a gulp of air that settled heavy in his lungs. He let it sit there for a moment before letting it woosh out of his mouth. “That guy, the, the,” he hiccupped on the sentence before shuttering out the rest, “he’s from my school. God he’s in my _grade.”_

“And you haven’t done that yet? Jesus Shiro I mean-”

“Lance!” And this time Keith really did bark at his boyfriend, turning to give him a sharp look of indignation while still holding Shiro’s wrists gently in his hands. “Shiro,” Keith turns back to him and ducks his head so they’re eye to eye, “would someone knowing… whatever this is really be _that_ bad?”

“Yes! There’s thirty-one people in my graduating class, Keith. Thirty-one. It may be okay for you guys to be out and happy here in the city but, god, you have no idea what would happen if everyone knew I was gay and a fucking cheerleader.” Shiro curled up into himself then, sliding down the tiled wall of the bathroom and hugging his knees into his chest. “They’d…” he took a moment and shook his head, white fringe losing its volume to cover his eyes, “They’d not do good things to me.”

“You have to talk to him, then, Shiro,” Lance spoke in a moment of actual sincerity, “You have to let him know that… that this isn’t who you want to be when you leave the gym.”

"You’re probably ri-” Just as Shiro was about to speak, a sharp rap of knuckles hit the bathroom door and the trio of boys jumped.

“Shiro, honey,” Allura’s voice came through the steel door with expert ease, “you know the rules, five minutes for barf breaks or-”

"Or bear crawls for everyone,” Shiro finished, already working to wipe the evidence of a breakdown from his face. Keith was shocked at the quick turn or events, but wasn’t surprised that it was Shiro who knew the rules and could coach himself back into a position of calm in mere seconds at Allura’s voice.

“I’ve already given you an extra two minutes,” she spoke softly this time, voice punctuated by a smaller knock on the door, “we’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay,” Shiro conceded, already pushing himself off the wall and making his way to the door, back to practice.

* * *

 

Matt was fumbling for his car keys when his name rang out across the parking lot in Shiro’s voice.

Oh god. Here they go.

Matt turned to face the boy and his entourage of friends as they made their way out of the gym after him. He felt his heartbeat kick into gear, preparing himself for whatever litany of abuse that was about to strike him.

“Hey,” Shiro greeted as he stepped up to Matt, his friends a few paces behind.

After Coran had made him sign some papers saying he wouldn’t post things without permission or tell anyone about anything he did at the gym, Matt had stayed through the end of practice, watching as the team fumbled through a slew of exercises that were meant to sharpen their jumps and strengthen their tumbling. Matt had barely followed along, half because of the new jargon he was forced to pick up and half because of the fact that his brain as still trying to process the whole Shiro thing. And now he was face first with it: The Shiro Thing™.

“He-hey,” Matt stuttered, fiddling with the keys in his hand instead of meeting Shiro’s eye.

“Can I,” Shiro glanced behind himself at the grouping of cheerleaders and made a motion that shooed them off, “can we talk for a second?”

“I, uh I, yeah, uh, yeah Shiro, sure.”

“Look,” Shiro began, raking one hand through his hair and tightening his grip on a gym bag with the other, “I, well you see-” instead of finishing this sentence, though, Shiro just growled and tugged on the white hair at the front of his head. “Matt you cannot say anything.” He finally gritted out, looking to the darkening sky instead of Matt’s face.

Matt had never thought someone like Shiro would look at someone like him with such fear, but here they were, Shiro’s eyes finally locking onto Matt’s face and pleading with him to keep this under wraps.

“I didn’t know you knew my name,” was the eloquence that Matt replied with, and if the pavement offered to swallow him whole, he would happily take it. But something in Shiro’s eyes cracked and the other boy barked out a surprised laugh.

“We had freshman English together,” Shiro reminded, the stress starting to melt from his closed off features.

“We did?”

“Yeah. But, I’m serious, Matt, I,” Shiro glanced around to make sure there was no eavesdropping and then, “I have six more months, I need to just.”

“I get it,” Matt’s stupid genius brain finally caught up to the conversation - thank god - and came up with a reply that wasn’t gaping like a fish out of water. “Not the kind of town to…” Matt gestured to the building behind Shiro’s broad shoulders.

“Yeah.”

“I won’t tell anyone you’re a cheerleader.”

“Thank you, Matt,” Shiro gave him a small smile before trudging over to his car and slipping in with the black-haired guy who had been waiting for him. Matt’s stomach shouldn’t feel so warm at Shiro saying his name, but here they were.

* * *

 Shiro took a full twenty minutes to get out of his car when he arrived home an hour later after dropping Keith off. His stomach was still churning and it felt like every carefully crafted wall was being crumbled around him as he watched. Anxious energy clutched at his chest but he shoved it down and made himself face the music and enter the house. He considered it was lucky when his parents were already two glasses of wine in and were winding down to some game show. His mom always left him a plate of food in the microwave and he ate it, half cold, standing at the kitchen island.

When he went to fall asleep later, body thoroughly exhausted now that they were in the thick of football and finally working choreography at cheer, Shiro found Matt still occupying each and every one of his thoughts. It was difficult to get rid of him.

* * *

Matt almost quit the job five times on the drive to the gym the next day and then three more times sitting in his car watching the team filter through the doors in his rearview mirror like a creep. It felt wrong, intruding on Shiro’s private life, like this.

But money.

So, he got out of the car and set up his camera equipment and filmed as the team did drills and lifts and danced and Matt just sat by, trying decidedly to not stare at Shiro.

It was hard when the guy looked like a god and was also so damn talented. It was like lifting girls and tossing them and tumbling head over heels across the floor and landing on his feet was nothing. It was confusing, how the jock of the football team was also so graceful.

But it was also fascinating, and Matt was nothing if not a lover of all things fascinating.

* * *

The day they got their comp music had always been Shiro’s favorite, even though the girls (and Lance) were always more interested with the new uniforms that came in a few weeks later. Finally getting something to emote to while going through the stock moves they had been marking out a routine to for a month was a breath of fresh air to the boring roar that was Allura’s eight count. She still counted them in and kept it up through the music, but instead of listening to her, Shiro got to hear a steady beat berating his ears, and when the chorus grew and they loaded pyramid, Shiro remembered why he did what he did.

And then Lexa fell.

* * *

It hadn’t been anyone’s fault, but they still took her away in an ambulance and there was a thick quiet that filled the room after the paramedics had taken the sobbing girl out of the room on a stretcher. All of the younger kids had been ushered out quickly after the accident and Lexa’s resulting scream of pain. Shiro had held the girl in his arms, rocking her as she sobbed and clutched her right leg in agony. It was most definitely a torn ligament at least, but by the way her foot had dangled when Shiro had picked her up and placed her on the stretcher, the bones were snapped clean through. A fall from the height Lexa had been at couldn’t result in a petty injury.

Allura was pacing at the front of the room, white bun all but obliterated in the scurry that it was to fill out all the medical information the paramedics had needed. Coran had gone to the hospital with her.

Matt felt brave for a few seconds and inched up from his seat position to be next to Shiro. No one had dismissed him and he wasn’t sure what to do.

“What happens now?” He whispered to Shiro, who looked as lost as the rest of his team.

“We’re down a center flyer three weeks before our first compet-”

“Everyone!” Allura’s voice boomed over them, silencing any murmuring that had been happening in the room. “Go home, we’ll revisit who to fill in the spot tomorrow. I’ll work on finding someone who can fill such big shoes, as I don’t think Lexa will be able to compete any time soon.”

There was still an hour left slated for practice, but with the injury looming on everyone’s shoulders, they filed out. Lance stuck behind and was speaking with Allura when Matt carried his equipment out last and shut the door behind him.

* * *

It’s two days later and Matt had been texted to not come to the gym until further notice by Coran. It was odd, to have gotten to used to a routine for a few weeks and for it to be ripped from him as quickly.

Nothing had changed at school. Even though Shiro had been friendly enough to Matt after their first encounter at the gym, he didn’t even acknowledge that Matt existed at school. It wasn’t like Matt was expecting it. Of course not. So he wasn’t sure why it felt weird.

It wasn’t anything new for Matt to take his lunches in the library. He was really good at shoving a sandwich in his mouth on the way from the chem labs and then spending the next half hour happily thumbing through books or just sitting in the blessed silence that was a library at lunch in a high school with less than one hundred students.

He was doing just that in the history aisle when Shiro rounded the corner and started at the sight of Matt sprawled out across the aisle with his laptop on his lap and headphones in his ears.

“Hey,” Shiro greeted softly, blinking a few times before proceeding to turn to the shelves and attempt to find whatever he had entered Matt’s fortress of solitude for.

“Hey,” Matt replied, taking his earbuds out and shuffling papers and his computer so he could stand, “Do you know how Lexa is?”

“Broken ankle and torn Achilles,” Shiro answered in a strained voice.

“Damn,” Matt responded.

“Yeah,” Shiro grabbed a book off the shelf with a tad more force than fully necessary and stared at the cover, “and it’s all my goddamn fault.”

“What? Hey,” Matt took a few steps over to Shiro and put a hand on his shoulder, “of course it’s not your fault.”

“I was her _base_ Matt,” Shiro jerked his shoulder out of Matt’s grip and turned so they were facing one another, “literally my entire job is to keep her in the air and catch her if she falls.”

“And you did the best you could do!”

“She’s in a cast and on crutches and is texting me nonsense thanks to the oxycodone, I’m pretty sure the best I could do is way better than that.” Shiro turned to leave but Matt quickly wrapped his fingers around Shiro’s wrist and tugged.

“No, it’s not,” Matt insisted.

“Yes,” Shiro once again ripped himself free from Matt’s grip.

“You couldn’t have done better, it’s just physics.”

“Stop telling me utter bullshit,” Shiro spat, and for a moment, Matt was actually frightened because he’s a loser in the library and a jock is staring him down like a bull ready to charge.

“Look,” Matt turned and retrieved his laptop, carefully balancing it on a shelf and clicking around to pull up a video. He starts playing it and when Shiro once again turned to go.

“I don’t want to see it again, Matt.”

“Shiro,” Matt pleaded as much as he can with his voice, “just look.” Matt paused the video right as Lexa is switching her feet in Shiro’s outstretched hands. Lexa’s ankle is collapsed over itself, bent out of sorts and her foot is barely on the edge of Shiro’s palm. “There’s no way you could have caught her, and no way she could have stayed up.” He pressed play and the scene panned out, Lexa tipping over the right and the entire group crashing to the ground in an attempt to cushion everyone else’s falls. Shiro’s arms reflexively grab at Lexa’s upper body and her head thuds onto his stomach instead of the floor as the group collapses. “Shiro,” Matt’s voice is quiet, “you did all you could.”

Shiro stared at the screen, his eyes boring holes in it and everything seeming to swim together in front of his face. Matt can see him gulp a few times, and he’s scared for his own health before Shiro turned and nodded at him. He touches Matt shoulder with just the tips of his fingers before he goes, nodding some more and shaking his head.

“Thank you,” is all he says before he gathers the book he had taken off the shelf and he turned to leave the library.

* * *

Shiro and Matt don’t talk at school again. It isn’t that Shiro doesn’t want to talk to Matt (having someone outside of the football team would be a nice change of pace, if Shiro was being honest with himself), it was just that their paths didn’t cross as much as one would think in a school so small.

So Shiro was regulated to his classes and his practices with his teammates for the week, and then he drove to the gym and worked out with the team. A few people had stepped in and tried stunting with his group but none of them had the explosive power Lexa had. None of them were point flyer material and it was glaringly obvious as they all stared down their first competition of the year coming up quickly in a few weeks.

It was a Tuesday when Allura held up her hand at the end of practice and asked for Shiro, Keith, Shay, and Lance to stick behind while everyone else was dismissed. Shiro was soaked through with sweat, his shirt forgotten somewhere on the side of the tumbling mat with a few of the other guys’. He was still breathing hard from the last run through with the music (even though his stunt group had been marking their versions of the stunts, still without a flyer), and he was ready to get home to whatever meal his mother had left on the table for him.

“So,” Allura was tapping a pen against her clipboard and staring at the four of them, “I think I’ve come to a decision. Lance, because of your flexibility and the case you have posed to me _many_ times, you are on probation as a flyer. If you prove that you can keep up and the stunt looks passable in the next few weeks for a competition, we will discuss the position of point, sound fair?”

Lance was practically vibrating next to Shiro, Keith’s hand on his arm the only thing seemingly grounding the boy. Instead of speaking, he just nodded hard and turned to Keith for a hug when Allura went to the next mat over to work with the all-girls team.

“Good job, buddy,” Shiro clapped Lance on the back with a smile. The three boys and Shay walked out of the gym together after gathering their backpacks. The night was sharply cold, biting into Shiro’s legs as he made his way quickly over to his car. Behind him he heard Lance finally burst, sputtering out happy nonsense to Keith and bouncing across the parking lot.

“What’s his deal?” Shiro turned to see Matt still shouldering his camera bag into his car a few spaces over. His breath was visible in the cold that had descended now that fall was preparing to turn to winter, puffing out in bursts of white cloud.

“Lance?” Shiro looked over his shoulder to where Lance was doing some form of victory dance next to the car while Keith unlocked it. Shay was giggling as she ducked into her own car. Matt nodded at him and Shiro continued, “He got the spot of flyer, I think Allura is going to pull in another tumbler from her all-girls team so we have balanced numbers.”

“Guys fly?” Matt looked confused.

“Yeah, sometimes. A lot of times they just do baskets and shit, but Lance has a stupidly flexible back, so he looks pretty good flying.” Shiro shrugged and opened the door to his car, “You’ll see tomorrow. I just have to make sure I can one-man him well.”

Matt raised his hand in a goodbye and swung himself down into his car. Shiro set about getting his heat cranked and plugging in his aux cord. He was just getting ready to peel out of his space when he looked over and Matt’s head was gently hitting itself on the steering wheel. It looked like he was trying to turn over the key but nothing was happening.

Shiro got out of his car and back into the chilly night and tapped on Matt’s window. Matt didn’t even lift his head, just turned it to the side and looked at Shiro before fumbling and rolling it down.

“Need a jump?” Shiro offered, it was the one thing about cars he actually knew anything about.

“No,” Matt groaned, sitting up and throwing his head back, “this old piece of shit does this in the cold. I’m just going to call my dad to pick me up and get it towed. It won’t start until it gets some new part that I absolutely cannot afford.” Matt tugged at the roots of his hair and it stayed sticking up even when he pulled his hands back to drag down his face. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

“I could,” Shiro cleared his throat once, words suddenly hard to fit around his tongue, “I mean you live a few streets over from me on Dogwood, right?”

Matt nodded miserably, “It’ll take an hour for my dad to get here, if I’m lucky.”

“Let me give you a ride.”

It took a moment for Matt to get his eyes to meet Shiro’s but when they did, they were full of shock and apprehension. “Look, I’ll be fine, Shiro, really-“

“It’s going to be close to the teens soon,” Shiro shivered at the wind that blasted past with emphasis, “let me drive you home so you don’t just sit here. I’m literally going to the same place.”

“No, I’ll be okay, it’s normal,” Matt was shaking his head vehemently, but without the heat from his car Shiro saw his fingers were already trembling where they rested in his lap.

“If you want to be stubborn, go for it, but you’re going to freeze to fucking death,” Shiro opened the backdoor of the car without asking and retrieved the camera bag and Matt’s backpack, “I’ll take these so I can give them to your family while they grieve your frozen corpse.”

“Jesus Christ, fine,” Matt shoved his shoulder into the door to get it to pop open and soon he was seated in Shiro’s front seat, fingers shoved into the air vents to try and get warmth back into them.

“I am glad,” Shiro started as he pulled out of his spot in the lot and began towards the road, “you are seeing things my way.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Matt had let his parents know that the car had crapped out at work, but he had a ride, don’t worry. Shiro had been silent through the entire phone conversation he had had with his father and was a surprisingly careful driver. The city was busy, even this late at night, but as they caught the highway, the roads quieted down and it was just the two of them in the car in the dark.

Matt was horrifically uncomfortable.

It was almost a battle of the wills, he thought while stealing glances at Shiro out of the corner of his eye, to see who would break the silence between them first.

Surprisingly, to both of them Matt was sure, it was Shiro.

“I have to ask,” he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, “how in hell did you manage to find a job doing videography for a cheerleading club an hour from your house?” Matt was caught off guard at the question as well as Shiro looking over at him to punctuate the question.

“I,” Matt fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket, “needed college money, ya know? I’m good with technology so I saw an ad for doing low level video shit and thought I could do it, make an easy buck. So I did.”

“Yeah,” Shiro continued, flicking his blinker on and merging off the freeway, “but how did you get the cheer job _specifically_?”

“Shiro, are you asking if I’m stalking you?” Matt meant it as a joke but the look Shiro shot him punctuated the fact that it wasn’t one.

“I’m not not suggesting it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That was absolutely not what I was asking.”

“The question still stands.”

Matt sighed and chose to look out the window on his right instead of trying to make shoddy eye contact, “It was a random chance, I swear. I think they saw me as fresh meat who they could throw the shitty job the company didn’t want to waste their best people on, or some equally idiotic whatever,” Matt waved his hand to finish the sentence for him. “So no, Shiro, I am definitely not stalking you. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Shiro snorting was the only response Matt got until they were closer to their small town and he had to direct Shiro into his driveway.

* * *

When Matt unlocked the front door and walked into the living room out of the frigid night, Pidge was already cackling from her blanket cocoon on the couch.

“That was so _nice_ of your boyfriend to drive you home from the cheerleading gym!” She howled, mirth in her voice, “How romantic, Matty!”

“Shut it, shortstop,” he shoved her over and stole the remote from her hands, ignoring the fact that his history essay was unwritten and due tomorrow.

“Oh no, this is too good,” his sister continued, “I just can’t believe you are going to a cheerleading competition next weekend. With the captain of the football team. Who no one knows is a cheerleader. I mean what kind of Disney Channel monstrosity is your life right now?”

Matt settled on a nature channel and stole a blanket from Pidge’s massive pile, “I have no fucking clue, so just leave it.”

She rolled her eyes, but thankfully kept her mouth shut while the horses galloped across the screen in front of them.

* * *

When the company forwarded Matt the email from the gym, he let his head drop to the desk in defeat. They wanted individualized edits of every member of the team that included all of the falls or stumbles they took in the weeks he had been filming them.

Did they even know how long that would take to cut apart, let alone edit?

Also, he may have fudged his editing abilities during his interview, just a little. There was the no lying lesson of this after school special.

Fuck.

“Pidge!” Matt screamed, head still resting on his desk, computer screen the only light in the room.

“What?” She yelled back from down the hall.

“How much will I owe-“

“Starbucks before school every day for two weeks!”

“Starbucks is on the _other side of town!_ ”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“We’d have to leave a half hour early!”

“I know!”

“You don’t even know what I’m asking you for!”

“It’s the going rate, for whatever Matts need this week!”

“Children!” His mother’s voice was somehow louder than both of theirs, even from the kitchen, “If you aren’t going to get up and speak, for god’s sakes just text one another!”

 **Pidge [18:02]:** wtf do you even need

 **Matt [18:02]:** ur superior technological abilities

 **Pidge [18:05]:** flattery doesnt get u out of sbucks

 **Pidge [18:13]:** but ill help bc im nice.

 **Matt [18:14]:** bless u small child

 **Pidge [18:15]:** smALL?

 **Pidge [18:16]:** fuck u first of all

 **Pidge [18:16[:** second of all u get to do three days where you bring me the coffee at home then drive me to school for that, asshole.

 **Matt [19:33]:** mom says that’s a waste of gas

 **Pidge [19:34]:** ya I was at the dinner table when u outed my blackmarket plans.

 **Matt [23:45]:** <3 <3 <3

* * *

Typically, they had Wednesday’s off, but since they were on a competition week, Allura had called the team into the gym every day until they left after practice on Friday night. She had told them they didn’t have to wear practice gear, though, so it was a little strange walking into the gym in jeans and a hoodie, but Shiro did it anyways.

“Why aren’t we doing full outs tonight?” He asked Keith as he collapsed onto the teal carpet and waited for the rest of the team to file in.

Keith shrugged, “Not sure.”

Shiro looked past Keith to Cat and Amy, who both shook their heads in confusion as well before returning to their phones.

“Maybe she’s throwing us a party,” Lance suggested from Keith’s left.

Shiro and Keith snorted in unison, both sending him an incredulous look.

“For what? Totally bombing at World’s last year?” Keith fixed Lance with a look that Shiro didn’t want to be in the middle of, “As if Allura is in any mood to throw us a party. You know how she gets before comps. And now we have a guy flying, which is a huge risk.”

“How dare you call me a huge risk, babe!” Lance placed a hand over his heart and attempted to look hurt through his obvious giggling.

“No babes in public, asshole,” Keith countered, shoving Lance lightly from across Shiro.

“I wasn’t aware that Shiro counted as the public,” Lance turned to look directly at Shiro then, “Shiro, were you aware you were demoted from best friend to the general public?”

Shiro, playing along, replied, “I was not aware, Lance. And for that, I am hurt.”

“Keith hurt Shiro’s feelings!” Lance hollered for the whole gym to hear, Keith burying his face into his hands.

“Why do you encourage this?” he groaned at Shiro, reaching out blindly to bat at his arm.

“Because seeing you flustered around people you’ve known since grade school is one of my favorite hobbies,” Shiro replied. Lance continued to hold court of the team (and some of the little kids from two mats over, when Shiro realized that even though almost everyone had arrived at that point, someone was still missing. “Hey, guys,” Lance and Keith both looked at him and he suddenly felt stupid for asking, but no turning back now, “Where’s Matt?”

“That videographer kid from your school?” Shiro nodded. Keith glanced around and hummed, “I guess if we’re not practicing anything he doesn’t have to be here?”

Shiro was confused at how that dropped his mood a bit, but Allura walked in so he didn’t have to dwell on that much.

“Okay everyone,” she called to bring the room to attention, “I want you to be in the best possible shape for this first time out with the new routine and configuration, but I also want to keep everyone as injury free as possible. As you have noticed, I’m sure, we’ve been paying someone to video your practices, and tonight we’re going to pick apart each and _every_ one of you so that going into this weekend you know what needs to be fixed so we can win this year.”

“So, this is about to become a bloodbath?” Keith leaned in to whisper to Shiro, all embarrassment gone from his voice.

“Yup, pretty much,” Shiro replied.

“Ah, Shiro,” Allura fixed him with an icy stare, “as you seem to want to speak, let’s analyze you first.”

Without ceremony, the image of a computer screen appeared on the wall behind Allura, it’s white paint the perfect platform for a projector that Coran was manning from the open office off to the side of the gym. It was typically used for movie nights and lock-ins, but apparently now it was to be used to view team videos larger than life.

Great.

The mouse hovered over a folder on the desktop and when it opened, there was a file with each of their names on it.

Even better.

Shiro would almost rather do five full out routines back to back.

Almost.

* * *

“Social media ban is now in effect,” Allura spoke as she strolled into the gym. It was a Friday night and everyone was ready for their last practice before the competition. Shiro had been seated between Lance and one of the other flyers, Abbie, and everyone was already groaning before Coran swept his way into the gym holding out a basket adorned with years’ worth of cheer bows. Everyone begrudgingly went to their backpacks and proceeded to dump their phones into the basket.

It had been a rule ever since Shiro could remember. Competition weekends were an unplugged-from-phones experience and no one liked it.

“You too,” Allura commanded and Shiro followed her gaze over to Matt who had been fiddling with something on the camera and hadn’t been really paying attention to what was going on around them.

“M-me?” He stuttered and Callie – one of their best tumblers – snickered behind Shiro.

“Yup, we’re paying you to travel with the team, and since you’re staying _with_ the team,” she nodded at the group of cheerleaders, “rules apply to you, too.”

Matt walked over next to Shiro and placed his phone in the basket Coran was still wiggling in front of them, seemingly shell shocked that he had just been made to follow the rules of a team he wasn’t even on.

“It isn’t as bad as you think,” Shiro consoled, smiling at Matt even though he was already walking back to the camera.

“Yeah, for someone who’s around all their friends, maybe,” Matt muttered, and Shiro wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hear that or not.

“Good, now that we’re all unplugged,” Allura put her hands on her hips and smiled, “lets do some bear crawls.”

* * *

Matt was exhausted from watching the team do a full out conditioning regimen, and since he was free of filming duties for the night, he was also incredibly bored. He couldn’t even text Pidge to see what the hell was happening at home or what his parents were up to. Of course, it had been discussed that when he traveled with the team he would be under Allura and Coran’s supervision as well as their rules, but he hadn’t known it would be this strict. Or that he would lose his phone.

So, he watched.

Shiro was a master at the conditioning exercises. Obviously, he had to be due to doing this plus football. That made sense, of course it did.

But seeing him do burpee tuck backs (and the fact that Matt knew exactly what that was), was insane.

And yeah. There was the fact that Matt was gay.

And a teenager.

So he noticed.

That Shiro had a body of a god.

He’d known that before. Because how could you not when you saw him?

But now.

Now it was different.

Now Matt _noticed._

Noticed Shiro. And how he gritted his teeth through the last three reps. How he clapped Keith on the back when they both finished neck and neck on timed exercises. He noticed abs and biceps and the easy smile Shiro somehow always kept on his face.

Matt noticed it all.

And that was the problem.

He noticed.

* * *

Shiro was exhausted at the end of conditioning, and even though he had changed at the gym and put on new sweats and a shirt, he still felt gross not having showered yet. So, getting on the bus was the last thing he actually wanted to do. But he trudged up the steps and threw his backpack down and let his head not-so-gently slam against the frozen glass of the window.

Keith and Lance were already condoling in the back of the bus, Lance’s face somewhere in the vicinity of Keith’s neck and because it was after eleven pm when they left, PDA was now acceptable.

Or some other bullshit.

Shiro didn’t know.

He didn’t have a boyfriend.

How would he know?

* * *

Matt hadn’t really thought this far. Which is to say, he hadn’t thought at all.

His boss at the video place had just shrugged when he asked how expenses should be payed if he was to travel with the team.

Apparently, that was not discussed when they had taken the contract, and thank god Matt was a teenage boy who could stay in a room with other teenage boys because otherwise this wouldn’t have worked.

But now he was in a room with Shiro and Keith and Lance.

All of whom he wasn’t exactly comfortable with. He wasn’t uncomfortable, but he wasn’t exactly at home, either.

“I call first shower,” Keith had said as soon as Allura had handed out room keys and shooed them away to get as much sleep as possible.

“And I think I’ll help save water-“

“ _No._ ” Shiro’s voice had been loud and he hadn’t even turned around from where he had been setting down his backpack and duffle. “I am not subjecting him,” a pointed finger in Matt’s direction, “to your horrific ideas and shenanigans.”

Lance pouted, but sat down on the bed and waited his turn to shower.

It was a seemingly unspoken fact that Lance and Keith would share one bed and Matt would be stuck bunking with Shiro. Matt in August would not have believed for any moment that Matt in the middle of November would be tucked in a bed with Shiro at a cheerleading competition. That Matt was making money to be at and Shiro was willingly participating in.

Pidge had been right, what kind of Disney Channel bullshit was happening to him right now?

The four boys cycled through the shower and bathroom, Matt happy to have this one little area of aloneness before he was to share a bed with a very hot guy. Which thinking about made Matt feel gross because he shouldn’t be noticing or considering Shiro’s looks like that. They were kind of friends now, right? And friends don’t do that.

All the confusion was probably just his exhausted brain talking, nothing more. So, Matt shelved his internal conflict for the night and crawled into bed last.

Keith had flipped the lamps off just a second before and now there was only the rustling of sheets and Matt’s eyes adjusting to the dark and-

“Why do hotels not have overhead lights?”

“Lance,” Shiro’s voice was mumbled by the pillow beneath his head but all of the irritation was still there.

“I mean, what’s the point? Of not having any lights? Why just lamps?”

“Lance,” Shiro’s voice was firmer this time, and Matt could feel the sheets being tugged at as Shiro attempted to hide himself in the duvet.

“Lamps are just the sad excuse for ambiance, really, I mean-“

“I’m withholding any and all-“

“Do _not_ finish that sentence, Keith Kogane, I swear to god I’m going to murder all of you,” Shiro was a grump when he was tired.

Noted.

“Not you Matt,” Shiro’s hand came over and recklessly patted Matt’s shoulder a few times, “you’re a gem.”

“Thanks Shiro?” The response came out as more of a question.

“Go,” Shiro yawned then, tugging on the blanket one more time, “to sleep everybody.”

Matt followed orders, and he drifted off, trying to keep his movements to a minimum so he didn’t disturb Shiro.

* * *

Shiro was the first one up, he always was. Most mornings he went on a run to get his body moving and to start his day off at five, but on competition weekends he for-goed the run to conserve his energy. They had been allowed to sleep in that morning and after a glance at his phone he realized it was past nine in the morning. That was late for him, even after getting to bed past midnight.

They didn’t compete until three, so they had the morning to rest and then get ready. Shiro sat up, realizing too late that an arm had been thrown over him in the night, Matt starfished out on the bed beside him. It was actually comical, seeing someone so lean take up so much room. Shiro carefully moved Matt’s arm from his lap to the other boy’s side, but not carefully enough that he didn’t stir Matt awake.

“Wha’ time issi?” Matt yawned into the pillow, pulling at the blankets, “leave me alone, Katie.”

Shiro chuckled under his breath and just slid from the bed instead of responding, pulling a hoodie and his shoes on.

Shay was already tearing into a stack of pancakes in the lobby of the hotel when Shiro approached her and sat down with his coffee.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked, looking around to realize that they were the only two from their gym in the lobby.

“Good, once Shelby shut up about some guy at her school,” she said, pushing her plate towards Shiro and offering him her fork. He took a bite of the pancakes and chewed thoughtfully.

“Peanut butter on pancakes? That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, my mom always made them this way so now it’s the only way I eat the things,” Shay pulled her plate back towards her and asked Shiro how he slept, as well.

“Good, I didn’t have to deal with boy drama, but Lance asks the weirdest shit late at night.”

“I am so glad I don’t have to room with him and Keith,” Shay replied, giggling, “especially now that the two of them are dating.”

“Surprisingly, they’re not _that_ gross.”

“That is shocking.”

“I agree,” Shiro took a long sip from his coffee, “Do you think we’re going to be okay with a boy flying?”

Shay shrugged and pushed a few leftover pieces of food across her plate in a pool of syrup, “I don’t know. I’ve been kind of worried about it all week. Boys don’t typically fly the whole routine, you know? It doesn’t look _bad_ per say, but-“

“It doesn’t look normal, especially for our division,” Shiro finished for her. She nodded along. “I guess we just have to trust Allura.”

“And Lance.”

“And Lance,” Shiro echoed.

* * *

“I think I’m going to puke,” Lance was standing in front of the mirror, a mascara tube in his hands but doing nothing to put the makeup on his face.

“Please not here,” Keith nudged him aside and busied himself with fluffing his hair and making sure it looked correct.

“You’re always nervous before we compete, Lance,” Shiro was pulling his top on and took a moment to admire the stoning and shimmer it had on it, “just go out and perform like you know how.”

"But I’ve never been flying before! You’re not going to drop me, are you?” Lance turned towards Shiro then, eyes wide.

“Have we dropped you in practice with this routine yet?” Lance shook his head.

“Lance,” Keith turned towards the room again, “you’ve hit every time we did full outs this week, you’ll be fine.”

Keith’s words soothed Lance a little, but Shiro was still fiddling with his shirt. He was usually the one who had to hold it all together. He had always been good at it, but this year felt different.

Something about it all felt final and solid and horrifyingly real. It was probably the threat of college looming over his head.

"You okay, Shiro?” Matt asked from behind him and Shiro was shocked back into the room, remembering it wasn’t just him and his teammates there this week.

“Yeah, just a little nervous for my final year, before off to college,” he answered, running a hand through his hair and putting on his best smile.

“Why are you guys so nervous?” Matt addressed the room, looking at each of them in turn.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

Matt took a moment to consider Keith’s words, turning them over in his brain a few times before replying.

“Well, it’s not like you’re going into this blind. There’s no unknown factors or variables here. You have a set routine to set music that you’ve gone over, full out, every day, four or five days a week, for the past five weeks. You’ve run through this version of the routine thirty-three times full out. You know it by heart, and none of you are really having issues because this year you’ve been able to watch back issues to know how they happen.” The room was silent when Matt finished speaking and he watched as each of the boys blinked at him, “I’m just saying,” he continued, “the scientific probability of you doing well is really high, because that’s what your bodies know how to do.”

“Okay….” Lance was the first one to speak, “So Matt’s giving the pep talks at huddles form now on.”

* * *

Shiro is stunned. He’d never heard Matt say more than a few sentences in school, and here he was shocking them all with a speech that not only made sense, but made Shiro’s nervous butterflies calm in his stomach. Matt was right. They did this every day, every week. Sure, things hadn’t gone to plan in a few places, but Lance was a good flyer and he was proving himself to be worth Allura’s risk.

Shiro kept repeating Matt’s words in his head as he followed the other boys down the hallway, gathering up the girls and the few other guys as they went. Soon the entire team was gathered in the lobby of the hotel, teal sparkles on the girl’s eyes.

“Let meeee!” Lexa was begging, grabbing for Keith’s arm as quickly as she could on her crutches, one hand holding a makeup brush with the team’s signature color already loaded onto the bristles. Keith was pulling away, but laughing as he did, knowing that the girls would always win and he could end up with a slash of iridescent teal on each of his cheekbones.

Shiro had long since learned to not fight the makeup and had let Shay pat his highlight on the second they got to the lobby. He looked over his shoulder and saw Matt, taking it all in, his hand over his mouth and his eyes sparkling with mirth.

“If you’re going to say something about the makeup-“ Shiro began, but Matt cut him off in a show of confidence that caught Shiro off guard.

“Shiro, if I were to comment on anything, it would be the bedazzling on the uniform. That highlight is secondary.”

And Shiro laughed and gave Matt a smile and helped Allura and Coran herd their team and the others who were at the competition with them outside and onto the bus.

* * *

Competing was Shiro’s drug. The second his feet hit the pavement outside of the convention center the competition was being held at, he felt the adrenaline begin to pump through his body. His heartbeat picked up and his fingers tingled and he was _ready._

Two of the other teams at the gym were competing before his, and for each one every other athlete and parent and friend who was there sat in the crowd and clapped and screamed along.

The first round, Shiro watched Matt’s face and it was entertaining how utterly confused the boy looked. It was something Shiro wasn’t used to seeing on Matt the Genius. As they walked away from the arena proper after the Youth One team – the adorable and tiny Lion Cubs that made Shiro’s heart melt with each back walkover – competed, Shiro stepped up next to Matt.

“What just happened?” the boy asked, and Shay and Cat, overhearing, giggled.

“Welcome to cheer,” the later said, joining the little group as they waited for the younger team to emerge with Allura so they could congratulate them. Matt still looked befuddled.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

“At least you’re getting paid to be here,” Shiro reminded him, “the rest of us are pay _ing_ to get to do this.”

“Masochism at its finest,” Keith said as he passed by, and Shiro was glad to laugh with his friends now, because at least it took the pressure off their performance for another few hours.

* * *

Watching cheerleading was something that Matt wasn’t sure how to do. The parents and friends and family all knew what was happening and what to watch for and what to say. There was a flow to each routine from the crowd. Clapping and yelling words that Matt couldn’t discern when the athletes jumped and singing along to the music as it played, it was borderline overwhelming. He wasn’t sure how to do it all and because of that, felt out of place.

As Legendary6 prepared to take to the floor, Matt fiddled with the pass that hung from his neck (Allura had to get him special press clearance to film the performances for the gym). He wasn’t sure why he was nervous for them. He had no dog in this fight, it was just a job. But as the announcer called their name and the team skipped and ran onto the bright floor, uniforms dazzling and catching every turn of the light, Matt was nervous.

Shiro was stunning alongside the rest of the team, it was something that was hard to ignore. The teal and silver uniform made his black and white hair pop, and the smile on his face was just as dazzling as the rhinestoning on his costume.

And then the music started.

* * *

“I still can’t believe it,” Lance breathed, holding his silver glittery backpack on his lap and playing with the two buttons that now adorned the straps. _Hit Sub Zero at Frozen Cheer 2019!_ The gold medal from the awards ceremony was still hanging around his neck, too.

“I can, we’ve worked our asses off,” Keith replied, one arm thrown around his boyfriend’s shoulders, tugging Lance into his chest so he could kiss the crown of his head. “And we had the best flyer in the competition on our side.” Shiro knew he wasn’t supposed to and barely heard the words mumbled into Lance’s hair by Keith, but he did and they made him smile even wider than he thought was possible.

“You guys were insane,” Matt piped in from Shiro’s side, “it’s the best you’ve looked since I met you.”

“Thanks, Matt,” Shiro said. And then, after a moment’s thought, quieter so the words were just between the two of them, “And thanks for giving us some confidence this morning. I think it really helped us three.”

“Anytime, big guy, anytime.”

* * *

The first major snowstorm of the season hits two days after the team’s first win. It’s a raging one that shuts down school, so Matt is home on the couch with Pidge and Bae Bae when his phone rings and he doesn’t recognize the number on it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Matt, it’s Shiro, what’s up?” Shiro’s voice is chirpy and it’s comforting in a way. Matt wasn’t aware he missed hearing Shiro’s voice until he heard it now. Huh.

“Hey, Shiro,” Pidges eyes went wide and she started to shove at Matt in some form of excitement he couldn’t comprehend, he shoved her back with one arm before getting off the couch to move upstairs, “I’m just enjoying the no school thing. I-uh-what about you?”

Shiro sighs on the other end of the line, “I was enjoying it, but Allura texted and said the roads are good enough that we have practice tonight. She ‘doesn’t want the winning feeling to leave’ or something, I dunno.”

“Oh, that sucks, are the streets safe out here?” Matt took a peak out of his window and saw that his road had some car tracks on it, but was still covered in a thick blanket of white.

“Well, that’s why I’m calling.”

“Huh?”

“She asked me to drive you?” And suddenly Shiro was speaking only in questions, “She doesn’t want to miss a video opportunity, and wants to go over the stuff from the comp? But she doesn’t think your car would, um, make it?”

“First off, I’m offended on my car’s honor. Secondly, yeah, she’s probably right,” Matt laughed and stared grabbing for a hoodie and some jeans. “If you don’t mind driving me, I’ll be there. Gotta make that money, ya know?”

Shiro laughed on the other end and Matt could practically see him nodding in agreement. “I’ll pick you up in twenty, then.”

“Mmk, by Shiro.”

“Bye, Matt.”

* * *

Shiro pulled up to the curb outside of Matt’s house in his black SUV eighteen minutes later, and Matt ran across the yard, kicking up snow behind him, in an attempt to be in the cold for the shortest time possible. He threw open the door and bundled himself and his camera bag into the car.

“Someone not like the cold?” Shiro teased and Matt’s teeth are chattering too hard for him to respond.

“Not all of us have a layer of muscle to keep the cold out, Shiro,” Matt finally bit back while shoving his fingertips into the vents to try and get them to unthaw. Shiro glances over at him in surprise at that and then laughs so hard the wheel slips from his hands for a moment before he rights the car back onto its careful path through the Indiana tundra.

“Without that layer of muscle, I wouldn’t be able to throw Lance into the air like a ragdoll,” he countered. “It’s not all just for show.”

“I never said it was, you just did, though. Feeling full of yourself today, Shirogane?”

“What kind of music do you want to listen to?” Shiro asked, deflecting the question but still keeping a lopsided smirk on his face.

“What kind of music do you got?”

“Here,” Shiro tossed an old school iPod that’s connected to an aux cord to Matt and the boy turns it over in his hands a few times before laughing.

“This is so analog, Shiro.”

“She may be tough on snow,” Shiro patted the dashboard of his car while they merge onto the clearer expanse of the highway, “but Bluetooth she does not have.”

Matt flipped through the artists on the iPod as Shiro picked up speed towards town, shock hitting him each time he realized they had a similar interest in music.

“Find anything you like?” Shiro asked after Matt had been silent for a moment, trying to pick out exactly what he wanted to listen to. When he got into the w’s at the end of the album list, a wicked smile lit up his face.

“Showtunes, Shiro? I didn’t peg you as the type,” Matt pressed play on a song and Shiro groaned through a laugh, “I call Glinda, do you accept the challenge of being my Elphaba?”

Begrudgingly, Shiro did.

* * *

The drive to the gym had been fun, after the initial embarrassment of Matt finding Shiro’s secret show tune stash had worn off. Matt had zero musical talent and could not sing to save his life, but he knew all the words and so did Shiro, and together they had made one hell of a hot mess production of _Wicked._

The drive back home was another story.

Dusk had given way to darkness while they had been in practice and the highway was fine until the neon red of taillights attacked. Now Shiro and Matt are settled in the car at a standstill on the expressway that was to take them home. They’ve been in the same spot for long enough for Shiro to feel comfortable enough putting the car in park and pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged in a mirror image of Matt.

“We’re going to be here for a while, if we haven’t moved yet,” Shiro stated the obvious, twisting a loose thread in his shorts around his fingers over and over again.

“Mmhmm, I should have eaten before I left my house,” Matt replied, sighing. “I never thought I would die by starvation in the quarterback’s Chevrolet.”

“Sounds like a Steven King novel.”

“It probably is.”

“You’re right,” Shiro stopped his fiddling and looks up at Matt. “How long have you been doing videography?” He asks, trying to fill the time and space with at least something.

“Honestly? I’ve never done strict video stuff. But anything with technology just…” Matt trailed off, searching his brain for a moment before continuing, “makes sense. My brain can muddle through history or essays, but science and math and tech has always been something that’s clear as day.”

“Huh, must be nice, I think physics is the most confusing bullshit I’ve ever used.”

“Did you just insult physics? How _dare_ you? Also, it’s just how the world works, it isn’t that crazy difficult if you look at it that way.” Matt shrugged and Shiro wiggled so he was leaning against the window and could look directly towards Matt.

“Tutor me and then you can see firsthand how nonsensical my brain thinks it is,” Shiro means it as a joke, but now Matt is nodding.

“I can if you need it, tutor you, I mean.” Shiro nods and shelves the idea, because it actually may be a good one. “How about you?” Matt asks, shifting so one of his knees is pulled up to his chest so that his chin can rest upon it.

“What about me?” Shiro counters.

“When did you start cheer?”

“Oh,” Shiro looks around at the lights of the traffic, at the overpass directly above them, at the glowing green of the clock as it ticks away minute after minute before returning his gaze to Matt, who’s bathed in orange from the streetlights, “it’s kind of funny, if you look at it my way. My dad always wanted me to be into sports, right?” Matt nodded. “So I was in peewee and little league and all of that stuff from basically the time I could walk. But I was so clumsy, I was falling and always had bruises or scrapes and shit. So, my mom thought taking me to gymnastics would help me learn proprioception.”

“Big word,” Matt butted in with a smirk, then motioned for Shiro to continue.

“But we didn’t have a gymnastics gym close by. Altea was actually the closest anything gym without having to cross the city,” Shiro gestures to the skyscrapers growing up from the ground next to them. “It all started because I couldn’t walk without falling over, and now it’s the bane of my father’s entire existence.” He huffed out a halfhearted laugh and shook his head, “Crazy, right?”

“Why’s it the bane of his existence? It made you a better athlete, didn’t it?” Matt asked, and Shiro knows the question is innocent enough, but it strikes him that he can’t answer it without rocking the entire boat (car). So, he steeled himself and just says it, because now or never.

“He claims it’s the thing that made me gay.”

* * *

Matt is reeling, just a tad. It’s a lot of information to acquire in less than five seconds. His brain kept looping the words ‘gay’ and ‘Shiro’ and ‘is’ over and over again and again. It made sense, kind of, but Matt had also been pretty sure his gaydar had been projecting itself in wanting this hot guy in his school to be the only other gay kid.

It takes a little too long for Matt to realize that Shiro is still right there, watching him, tugging on the string on his jacket, waiting for Matt to say something. Oh yeah. Shit, he has to reply.

"You’re – I mean, it’s not that, though. He knows that, right? Nothing can just… turn you gay.”

“You know that, and I know that, my father on the other hand…” the string finally breaks between Shiro’s fingers and he holds it for a second before sending it fluttering to the car’s floorboards. “He’s in denial about it, is what my mom says. That one day he’ll come around and understand. I’m not so sure he will.” Shiro’s eyes refused to meet Matt’s then, and something in Matt’s chest is tugging tugging tugging. It hurts. So he reaches over and grabs the hand that Shiro was twisting the string around and laces their fingers together decidedly.

“Then screw him. Homophobes suck, but they exist. You-“ Matt takes a quick breath to steady himself and make sure the words come out the way he wants them to, “Shiro you’re an awesome person. You’re funny and supportive, and literally stupidly good at whatever you do. Which is unfair. You’re also nice and kind and not the person I think a lot of kids at our school think you are. But you’re you. If someone sees all of that and isn’t okay with this one little portion of who you are, then fuck them, you know?” Matt gives Shiro’s hand one final squeeze before gently letting it go.

Before Shiro replies, a honk sounds and makes both boys jump out of their skin in surprise. When they look, the traffic has begun creeping forward around them. Shiro shifts around and begins to drive with the flow.

It isn’t until they’re sitting in the car, idling outside of Matt’s house with the headlights making the snow sparkle ahead of them that Shiro reaches over and grab’s Matt’s hand back for a moment. “Thank you.” It’s all he says before letting Matt slip out of the passenger seat and race back into his house.

* * *

The next competition was closer to home, which meant that they didn’t have to take a late-night bus and stay overnight on Friday, they could just drive up Saturday morning and stay over that evening. Most of the team was happy about this, because it meant that they could sleep at home. Matt was angry about it, because it meant he had to be out of his bed at six in the morning. Which was an ungodly hour, a fact he told Shiro the moment he threw his duffle bag in the backseat and collapsed into the front.

Shiro chuckled and turned up the heat just a tad more for him as they pulled away from the curb and towards the gym. After the snow day, Shiro had offered to drive Matt to and from Altea. It saved both of them gas money and they were able to spend more time together that way (which was selfishly Matt’s entire reason for agreeing). It was nice, too, having an hour to not drive. On the way, Shiro pulled over at an exit and went through the drive through of a Starbucks (“They make the best coffee, I’ve tried every one between here and Altea, trust me.”), and waved off Matt’s cash when he went to pay.

“My treat, Matt. Early Christmas present,” was all Shiro said before handing over his latte and pulling back on the interstate.

* * *

When they got to the venue around lunch, Shiro stopped Matt for a moment and gave him a once over while everyone else was exiting the bus. Matt felt like he was burning under Shiro’s gaze, which was a new feeling and he hoped that Shiro wouldn’t notice that he was blushing furiously at the scrutiny.

“What’s wrong?” Matt finally asked, looking between Shiro and Keith and Lance, who were standing with them. “What did I do?”

“I think you’re a little…” Shiro tapped his chin and then rummaged around in his backpack while continuing, “nonteal. It bothered me last time, too.” He produced a bright hoodie with the logo of the gym on the front, and his name on the back. “At least be a part of the team, if you’re going to be here, Matt.”

Shiro’s tone was joking but Matt knew he flushed even harder when Shiro shook the hoodie at him and made him swap the one he was wearing already out for it. Because it felt like a much larger symbol for something than it actually was.

“There,” Shiro slung an arm over Matt’s shoulders and their little group continued forward into the competition venue, “now you look like you’re a part of the squad.”

* * *

“Shiro has a crussshhhhhhhhhh,” Lance sang up to him as Shiro pulled the younger boy’s arms back and helped him stretch his back out before the team began warming up.

“I do not!” Shiro protested, tugging a little harder on Lance to make his shoulder pop the way he liked.

“He’s wearing. Your. Hoodie,” Keith enunciated each word, “I think the whole world is aware that you’re swooning over the nerdy guy we keep bringing to all the competitions.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll have a ship name and fan accounts for your love by Monday morning on Insta,” Lance continued his teasing, “Takashi and Matty sitting in a tree…” Shiro let go of one of Lance’s arms just to slap him on the head. 

* * *

The won again. It was a spectacular feeling, holding yet another gold medal in his hands. Shiro was on cloud nine, even at the too late hour they were getting off of the bus. He’s sleep deprived and exhausted, but he concentrates on the road as he drives both he and Matt towards home.

Matt is still in his hoodie and is curled in a tight ball in the passenger seat, dozing with his head on the window. It takes thirty minutes into the drive, halfway to Matt’s house, before Shiro allows his internal voice to admit that Matt looks adorable. And that Shiro likes him in his clothes.

That admission alone makes his heart pick up speed and his stomach get overheated.

He spends the last half hour of the drive flipping words around in his brain, gathering courage, so when he wakes Matt up outside of his house and the boy is stretching his arms and rousing himself to make the sprint across the lawn, Shiro can muster himself up and ask: 

“Hey Matt? Do you want to go do something with me next weekend? Just, uh, the two of us?” And Matt’s smile is near blinding and he nods, and Shiro barely registers the instructions to text him about it later, because his brain is doing a celebration of its own inside his head.

* * *

Matt had never entertained the idea that Shiro was a serial killer until this moment. When he turned onto the mushy dirt road that his GPS told him to and it was devoid of streetlights and trees canopied the entire stretch, though, the idea did pop into his brain.

He was going to meet a guy at a cabin in the woods in winter.

 It did sound a little murdery.

But then again, there was a first-grade yearbook somewhere in his house that had a picture of Matt and Shiro in polo shirts with half their teeth missing. So, it wasn’t like he had no clue who this person he was going to meet was. It was just that this entire situation was new. Matt never expected to date in high school, seeing as he was (recent revelations and job-related findings aside) the only openly gay guy around. The fact that he was now parking his car in front of a cabin that looked as if it had been forced to look rustic and waiting for him on the front porch bundled in a grey pea coat was Takashi Shirogane, captain of the football team and all-star cheerleader, was kind of mind boggling. Matt blamed the serial killer related thoughts on that.

“Hey,” Shiro greeted him with a smile when Matt stepped out of the car and into the icy slush that was remnants of the last snowfall, “I’m glad you found the place okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” Matt replied, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie to hide that they were shaking slightly with nerves. “It gets dark out here really fast, huh?”

Shiro nodded, “It does, but I think that’s why I like it out here so much. Come on, I got the fire started already.”

At the suggestion of warmth, Matt followed Shiro around the side of the house. A lake glittered behind the cabin, stretching far enough that in the dark Matt couldn’t see the other side at all, just the moon and stars dotted along the horizon and a fire crackling away on the shore. It smelled divine, and the warmth drew Matt in right away. Stone benches wrapped around the fire pit and they had been cleared of whatever snow had been left from the last storm. Matt sat on one and Shiro sat to his right, far enough away that Matt was slightly disappointed in the lack of contact and body heat.

“You can build a fire?” Matt asked, staring straight into the flames instead of having to meet Shiro’s eye.

“It’s honestly a very intuitive experience.”

“Leftover caveman memories.”

“More like lighter fluid and a prayer,” Shiro rebuttled and both boys broke into a fit of laughter.

“So,” Matt started, finally allowing himself a glance over at Shiro, “Mr. I’m-Going-To-Plan-The-Date, what are we doing?”

“What, creating fire isn’t enough for you?” Shiro smiled down at him and Matt felt his entire body pulse with the electricity that was behind that look.

“If you want a second date, you have to dazzle me, Takashi,” Matt stated with a raised eyebrow. At the falling of his first name off of Matt’s lips, it was pleasant to note that Shiro’s cheeks flushed darker than they should have. Matt counted it as his first win of the evening.

“Already talking about the second date, huh?” Shiro reached to his side and produced two wire hangers that had been unbent and a huge bag of marshmallows. “A little birdie told me the way to your heart was through sweets.”

“If that little birdie is my sister, I’m terrified to learn what else she told you.” Shiro grinned and handed Matt his hanger, but insisted on placing the marshmallow on the end himself. It’s sweet and new and Matt heard first dates were supposed to be terribly awkward things but for some reason this didn’t feel like it.

They sat for a few moments, marshmallows turning over the edges of the flames when Matt finally lost control of his verbal filter and spewed the words that had been nagging at the back of his mind since he exited off the freeway.

“Why aren’t you out?”

Shiro stiffened next to him, stilling long enough to let his marshmallow catch on fire and drip off his hanger.

“Shitshitshit,” Matt attempted to backpedal, knowing that he probably just ended this before it began because he’d only been here for less than half an hour and he had brought up the worst possible topic, “Shiro I-“

Shiro held up his hand to silence Matt and he took the hint. Shiro blew out the flame on his marshmallow and set the hanger and it down next to him before speaking. The entire time Matt could feel the weight of his stupidity weighing down on him.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not, I shouldn’t-“

“Seriously,” Shiro turned so he could face Matt, “It’s a valid question, Matt.” He took a breath in and held it, staring up at the moon for a moment before looking back at Matt, “I’m still not out to even my extended family. I don’t know how to do it or how to even think about rocking the boat that much. Coming out to my mom was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I’ve always…. Known who I am, I guess,” he shrugged and went back to busying his hands with starting on another marshmallow, “but I’ve never known what the right time was to just say it all.”

“Neither did I,” Matt told him, refusing to look over at Shiro for this next part, “My parents found out when they caught me making out with my partner for the intercountry science fair in ninth grade. That was about as much of a coming out as you could get.” Shiro, to his credit, tried not to laugh. He wasn’t successful, but let it be known that Matt appreciated the effort it took to not laugh at that particular brand of nerdy ridiculousness.

“I guess that’s one way, sure,” Shiro amended, nodding to the fire, “I just don’t feel brave enough to do it.” Matt’s marshmallow was finally golden and he took it away from the flames. Shiro busied himself with tearing open the graham cracker box and carefully extracting Matt’s marshmallow to assemble the s’more.

“Shiro, you can do a double twisting backflip, I think you’re pleanty brave in your own way. And, uh, also, you don’t have to do it until you’re ready,” Matt finally replied, now through a mouth of sweets, “I didn’t ask to force you out. Just out of… curiosity.”

“I know, and thank you,” Shiro told him, smiling around his own bite of s’more, “you, uh,” Shiro reached over with the hand not currently occupied and swiped at the corner of Matt’s mouth, “you had some chocolate.” With that one swipe of Shiro’s thumb against his face, Matt felt like someone had let loose a spark inside him. His entire body went from chilly to overly warm and his stomach was folding in on itself, if anyone was willing to check it. He hadn’t been sure about all of this, going on a date with Shiro, until that moment. That warmth he felt in the pit of his stomach made everything solidify and sharpen around him.

He really _really_ liked Shiro.

“Thanks,” was all he could say and Matt knew his face was probably hotter than the fire at that point, but he couldn’t bring himself to care all that much, “And now that I got all the stupid intense conversations out of the way,” he swallowed the last of his s’more and made a show of wiping his hands off on his jeans even though they were shaking slightly at his current revelation, “what’s your favorite 80’s rock band?” Shiro laughed up at the sky at the absurdity of the change of subject but obliged.

“If you don’t say Motley Crüe is yours we’re ending this right here,” Shiro replied, and that was that.

* * *

The conversation went downhill from there, into weird niche likes and dislikes. Shiro had a fear of eels, Matt would only eat pickles if they were dipped in ranch dressing. Matt learned about the time Shiro had been cornered into wearing lipstick for one of the cheer performances and Shiro was told the top-secret family story of how they lost Katie at Disney World for a full seven hours. The temperature steadily dropped during all of this and the fire was quickly going from flame to embers, and without realizing how cold it had gotten, Matt was startled out of a story by a sudden shiver running down his spine.

“Hey, come here,” Shiro interrupted, pulling Matt to his feet and making his way across the yard to where a giant hammock was stretched between two ancient oaks. A few blankets were thrown on it and after a moment of giggling and fumbling, both boys were laid out side by side on it staring at the stars. Shiro carefully maneuvered himself so that a blanket was thrown over both their bodies and Matt was pleasantly surprised that it was one of the electric ones and had already been heating up. The warmth enveloped him and it was pure bliss with Shiro’s body now – finally – pressed along his side.

“Oh my god,” Matt snuggled down a little more, gathering the blanket up and around his body, “this is the best.” Shiro chuckled but didn’t deny it. It was a pretty good idea, after all. Their small town was enough of a suburb that the city lights didn’t drown out the stars too much but here, forty-five minutes further into the woods, the sky was sparkling. “You can even see Saturn out here,” Matt mumbled following the alignments of the dots in the sky with his eyes.

“You can?” Shiro asked, voice also hushed.

Matt hummed in affirmation and then fumbled around for a moment to gather Shiro’s hand in his. He took it and guided Shiro’s finger to where he could see the planet.

“It looks just like another star,” he said, “but you can locate it due to its relation to the stars around it,” Matt glanced over and his heart melted at the sight of Shiro’s nose scrunched in concentration. “You’re not going to see anything special, dumbass.” Shiro turned his head and looked over to meet Matt’s eyes then and his gaze is so soft and comforting and lovely. Matt felt that warmth behind his belly button begin to expand again, his heart picking up speed a little bit because it occurred to him that he could lean over and kiss Shiro right now.

An even more pressing thought was that he wanted to lean over and kiss Shiro right now.

So he did.

Shiro startled for a moment at the sudden movement Matt had made and how it had sent the hammock they were both occupying swinging dangerously for a moment, but then he settled and kissed Matt back.

He.

Kissed.

Matt.

Back.

Shiro’s hand came up to rest on the side of Matt’s face and his fingers toyed with the baby hairs right behind Matt’s ear. Matt sighed into the touch and reciprocated, winding his arm around Shiro’s waist under the blanket.

He had expected that touching Shiro would be different, that the muscles would be tough and solid, and while Shiro was solid in a sense, he was also soft, and more importantly, deliciously warm. At Matt’s touch Shiro seemed to be encouraged and his fingers went from just toying with the ends of strands to completely embedding themselves into Matt’s thick hair. Matt took this as all of the permission he needed and scooted as close as he could to Shiro without sending them onto the frozen ground below.

Shiro tasted like chocolate and spice from the graham crackers and the smell of campfire smoke still surrounded them. The blanket was warm and Shiro’s fingers playing with and tugging at his hair were warmer. Matt let his fingers trail up and down Shiro’s spine, gentle caresses that he could steal for himself in the safety of this dark forest.

Matt lost track of time on the shore of the lake, his eyes shut and mouth occupied and brain just buzzing with Shiro and thoughts of Shiro and the smell and taste and feel of Shiro. But he did find out later that he was well and truly in trouble for staying out until four in the morning.

Whoops.

He couldn’t bring himself to really care all that much.

* * *

It was Christmas.

Shiro loved Christmas for multiple reasons. The smiles it brought to parents, the joy in kid’s faces as they met Santa. The smell of his house when he got home from the last day of school before break to his mother baking gingerbread and sugar cookies. The presents and getting to shop for them with Keith and Lance as per tradition. But this year he loved it all even more.

Because he had a boyfriend.

They had parted ways so late after their date that it was early, Shiro deciding to stay at his family’s house and Matt insisting that he would be killed by his parents if he wasn’t at home when they got up, even though Shiro had offered him one of the guest rooms.

But Matt had kissed his cheek and promised to call him the next day, and he had. They had talked, and kissed, and held hands on the drive to and from Altea for the next week before Matt had asked Shiro shakily what he wanted to call what they were doing.

Shiro had spit out the b-word before even thinking about it. He hadn’t even had time to be worried about saying it before Matt’s face had broken out into a smile and he’d been nodding and trying to kiss Shiro at the same time.

Shiro was still staying in the cloest in school, so they didn’t really interact there, but that made Shiro feel like he was neglecting his _boyfriend_ (it felt so so good to say that word, even if it was in his own head), so when Lance and Keith had texted wondering if their normal shopping trip was still on downtown, Shiro had asked if Matt could come along and join in the festivities.

Lance had been beside himself with excitement.

The city was all decked out in its festive finery, wreaths and garland and tinsel. Shiro’s breath was puffs of white in the freezing temperatures, but even they couldn’t take the spring from his step or the warmth that he felt from having Matt’s hand in his for the world to see.

“Soooo,” Lance took the candy cane he had been sucking on out of his mouth and pointed it at Matt, “who kissed who first?”

“Lance!” Shiro laughed, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

“Shiro, this is your first _boyfriend_ I need every and all details on the matter!” Shiro’s flush deepened, but Matt squeezed his hand and everything was okay with the world.

It was Christmas, Matt was with him, and the team had been on a winning streak. Senior year was actually turning into something Shiro could get behind. So Shiro let Matt give Lance whatever dumb details he wanted. He was happy there were details to give, in the first place.

* * *

While Shiro had adored Christmas, Matt always looked forward to New Year’s. And not just because it was an opportunity for him to be able to drink in front of his parents (though that did carry some serious weight with it). He loved the fresh start, the new possibilities a year could hold. The romantic in him also loved the kissing aspect of it, too. And this year he had Shiro. His boyfriend.

Pidge had just stared at him when he admitted it to her. He had been worried she would attempt to pick it apart and tell him all the reasons it was a terrible, horrible, not good idea to date a guy in the closet, but she hadn’t. After processing the information, she had smiled and quietly shared in his bits of joy.

His parents were something else. Both of them were so excited that Shiro was forgoing whatever insane party the in crowd at school was throwing to join them for their little family New Year’s that his mom had made so many snacks, Matt wasn’t sure how five people were going to finish all of the food that was spread across the kitchen counters. But if anyone could do it, it would be the Holts.

Shiro arrived at seven and was jumping into and participating in the conversations like he had always been a part of the family by eight. As the night progressed, Matt felt a small ball of warmth grow and expand in his body. Every time he and Shiro met eyes the flame burst and he felt dizzy with the heat of it.

When the ball dropped and everyone was cheering, Shiro tipped his head back to kiss Matt tenderly, cupping his face and not able to hide his smile. It was chaste and small, but the weight behind it made Matt’s head spin, the glass of champagne he had been nursing aside.

Matt thought that maybe this was what falling in love felt like.

* * *

Physics had never let Matt down. The rules were hard and fast and breaking them was not an option. They made sense and worked well and he understood them. That’s why on the first day back at school after the holiday break, when the positive inertia of his and Shiro’s relationship comes to a screeching halt, he’s shocked at the fact. Objects in motion stay in motion, but he guesses that a football team with Instagram is enough of an obstacle that it can stop motion, no matter how perfectly forward it’s going.

Matt’s standing at his locker when it happened. His head is buried inside, trying desperately to find his protractor for class when there’s a startling slam of a body against the metal a few feet down.

“What the hell, Craig?” When Matt heard Shiro’s voice he poked his head out from his locker and looked over to see a few of the guys in letterman jackets puffing out their chests at a Shiro who’s straightening his own letterman and looking incredulous at being slammed into the lockers.

“Shirogane, when were you going to tell us you’re such a special snowflake?” Craig asked, taking a step towards Shiro.

“What bullshit are you on about?” Shiro squared his shoulders and used the fact that he’s a few inches taller to attempt to intimidate the other guy.

“You see, my cousin was showing me some interesting videos of her favorite _cheerleading_ teams over Christmas break.” Matt felt his stomach turn to ice. “And I was being supportive, paying attention, and it was quite a shock to see such a familiar face,” the small group has gained attention and people were starting to gather. Matt hung back in shock. His brain just kept repeating ‘no no no no no. Not him, not now.’ No matter how much he mentally pleaded, the scene in front of him kept playing itself out in a cruel sense of teen drama.

They were so close to the end of high school. This couldn’t be happening now. Not to Shiro. Not to someone as good and perfect and wonderful as him.

“Do you have a problem with me being doing an outside sport?” Shiro retorted, but Matt could hear the waver in his voice.

“We do, yeah,” Craig took a step closer so the two were toe to toe, “especially since we’ve shared a locker room with your gay ass for years.” The crowd was getting thick now, and Matt could feel his chest ratcheting tighter and tighter.

“I do flips and jump and hang out with half naked chicks all the time, no one said I was gay. If anything, you should be asking me how to get in on that,” Shiro replied and Matt was proud of the confidence he held in that statement, even if it was a little deprecating.

“Get in on that nerd over there?” Craig jerked his head and now everyone was staring at Matt, the entire crowd turned. “I don’t think so.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t even know him.” Shiro asked, saving Matt from speaking, even though the words stung. Matt knew he didn’t mean them, and when he met Shiro’s eyes there was nothing but apologetic pleading there.

“Bull,” one of the other jocks said, pulling out his phone and shoving it at Shiro. He had pulled up a video and Matt could hear Lance’s voice echo through the hall. It had to be a snapchat or a story from somewhere at Christmas. He couldn’t see the screen but he had a feeling he knew when it was from. They had been hanging out at the gym and playing around tumbling on a free day after secret Santa. Shiro had attempted to teach Matt how to do a cartwheel and instead of getting it, they had both somehow ended up falling to the floor in a tangled mess of easy touches and giggles and he knew Lance had gotten a kiss on film.

“Stop being in the honeymoon phase, you gross boyfriends!” Matt could hear Lance say and it was like the guillotine had dropped. Shiro’s face was white and the hallway was silent.

And then Shiro shoved his way past everyone and disappeared down the hall, hushed whispers and a few smug looking football players left in his wake.

* * *

“Your mom is worried about you, you know,” Matt’s voice isn’t a surprise as his feet crunch on the snow towards where Shiro is laying in the hammock at the cabin with his eyes closed. “She called me when you didn’t come home after school. I don’t even know how she got ahold of my number.”

“She’s a mom,” Shiro answered, not opening his eyes, “she has her ways.”

Matt’s footsteps stop and Shiro can feel his boyfriend standing over him. There’s a beat of silence before Matt speaks again.

“Shiro,” and his voice is a whisper and it makes Shiro’s resolve on not crying crack again. He can feel the heat of tears begin to prick at the backs of his eyes. “Are you-“

“No, of fucking course not,” he answers back and he opens his arms because right now in this small moment he just needs to be hugged.

It’s not until Matt is collapsed on top of him and they’re clinging to one another with fingers fisted into the back of hoodies that Shiro gathers the courage to speak again.

“I guess I’m out to the world, now.” He can feel Matt nod against his shoulder.

“Is it a bad thing?”

“It’s my worst nightmare,” Shiro admits in a whisper, squeezing Matt tighter and praying to wake up from this horrific dreamscape. “I just wanted to get through high school without having to deal with it. I saw what they did to you, and god, Matt, I should have been there for you-“ Matt cut him off and just shushed him. They lay in silence for a few moments before Matt, his own voice broken, speaks.

“I’m so sorry,” Matt whispered, “I wish I could do something.”

“Just stay. Please don’t leave me alone.”

“Of course, baby,” Shiro feels Matt kiss his temple and they lay there, in Shiro’s own personal circle of hell, as the sun droops down over the horizon.

* * *

Matt is against Shiro going back to school the next day, but Shiro’s dad doesn’t give him the option of staying home. The good that comes out of it, though, is Shiro texting Matt at three in the morning, asking if, now that they’re outed, he can drive Matt to school? Pidge too, of course.

He brings them Starbucks and Matt knows it’s just a front for both of their exhaustion and Shiro needing to fill the gap with some form of kindness. He kept apologizing to Matt, wishing he had been there for him when he had come out and people had spoken about him behind his back and, before the principal had suspended someone for bullying, written a slur across his locker in sharpie.

Matt shushes him every time he tries to bring it up. It’s in the past, they didn’t know one another. He really doesn’t care about all that any more, anyway.

So now they’re pulling into the school, Pidge trying to rid the car of nervous energy by babbling about whatever comes to her mind in the backseat. It’s mostly the plot of some old cartoon she’s been watching about robotic lions and some new invention she’s been working on for her robotics team.

Shiro had held Matt’s hand the entire way, squeezing it harder and harder as they get closer to the school until his grip is crushing before he pulls his hand away to turn into a parking spot. Pidge jumps out when they get to school, blessedly giving Matt a moment alone before they have to face the people who had outed his boyfriend.

Part of him – the part that doesn’t realize he’s not an imposing threat at all – wants to walk up to Craig and the other three guys and break all of their noses. The sane part of him knows that violence won’t get them anywhere.

Everyone notices that Matt is in the front seat. Everyone watches as they get out of the car and Shiro meets Matt in front of it. Shiro holds out his hand to Matt and Matt gives it a hard look before meeting Shiro’s questioning gaze.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I think it’s about time I stop hiding.I wasn’t given the choice on timing, but we may as well start now?” Shiro replies, and Matt lurches forward to clasp their hands together, a show of solidarity.

They had one another.

And that was enough.

* * *

It’s weird, holding Matt’s hand as he walks through the front doors of the school. Not the act of holding his boyfriend’s hand – that has become one of Shiro’s most favorite activities and one he’d gotten quite used to doing over the few weeks of Christmas break – but holding it in a place where he never thought he’d be out.

The day before had been Shiro’s worst nightmare. It had felt like the entire universe caved in and it left him naked in the snow when Craig had cornered him. He hadn’t slept the entire night before, had tossed and turned in his bed thinking about every possible outcome of what could happen the next day at school. It had been scary until he realized that there was nothing he could do. Literally nothing in the universe could change the fact that he was gay, he was dating Matt, and he adored being a cheerleader and getting to perform.

So, he had decided that the last four months of high school would be spent being who he was fully. He had a football scholarship lined up, his team had a real chance of going to Worlds and doing well, and he had a boyfriend. A smart, wonderful, kind, boyfriend who would face all of this with him without batting an eye.

And walking into school, and sitting at lunch across from Matt, and meeting him at the car and kissing him before driving him home, Shiro regretted not doing this sooner. Because all the weird looks and whispers and shunning be damned. He was happy, and he was going to keep it that way.

* * *

Snow had given way to slush and ice and torrential rain. Spring had sprung and lawns were green and flowers grew and Matt made Shiro come along on his family’s annual spring break vacation to the national park. They had hiked and camped and Shiro had gotten to kiss Matt under a waterfall. Way better than keg parties with the football team.

NCA championships had happened and Legendary6 had been second in the division, right behind the team who had won World’s last year. It was the highest they had ever placed in a national competition and Allura had cried as they got their medals.

Now it was May and the team was on a bus driving from the airport into Orlando proper, moms and dads and kids all chatting away and cheering when they crossed under the giant purple gate that marked their entrance into Walt Disney World and the start of the world cheerleading championships.

Matt’s gig with the videography company had ended before they left, and now he was here just as a spectator.

And Shiro’s boyfriend.

And possibly the team’s biggest fan.

They had even gone as far to get him his own baseball style jersey with his name on the back just like the rest of the team had. “You’re basically part of this all, now,” Coran had simply stated when Matt had gotten a bag of World’s swag along with the rest of the team at the last practice before they left.

Allura had granted them a night off before crunching down into practices the next day prior to the team competing, so Matt, Shiro, Lance, and Keith dropped their bags in their room and turned right around to head out into the parks. When else would they get the opportunity to do all of this together again?

It Matt had known that his senior year wouldn’t be just sitting at his computer or building things with his sister, but instead would be cheerleading competitions and a boyfriend and this smile that’s almost boarder line painful, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Yet here he was, holding Shiro’s hand as they walk towards the castle, Keith being tugged along in front of them by a skipping Lance who had Minnie Mouse ears on his head in the Altea gym’s team colors. They had all posed for a photo and Shiro had immediately made it his profile picture on Instagram.

Here he was with Shiro, laughing at stupid jokes on the Jungle Cruise or slamming their shoulders together on Big Thunder Mountain or giggling at the kitschy-ness of the nostalgic sci-fi in Space Mountain.

Here he was watching Lance and Rapunzel talk about how her pet chameleon was trying to teach her how to change colors, and it was much harder than it looks.

Here he was not letting go of Shiro’s hand because he didn’t have to pretend to be something he wasn’t.

Here they were sharing one of the Mickey ice cream bars and using his thumb to swipe chocolate off of Shiro’s cheek.

And here he was, fireworks exploding above him, kissing his boyfriend, and whispering into his lips, ‘I love you.’ Because sometimes you just have to end your Disney Channel movie bullshit with corny stereotypes.

* * *

 The team went home with gold medals, and a Lance that broke his wrist doing a back handspring in Animal Kingdom after the awards ceremony.


End file.
